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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

A to Z April Challenge: B is for Buss

My theme for the A to Z April Challenge is “In-Laws and
Out-Laws – Friends of the Family.” I
will be researching friends, colleagues, neighbors - those people who came and
went touching my family’s lives in both small and large ways.

is for Buss.
E.E. Buss.

She was not exactly a “friend” of the family. In fact, she qualifies as an “out-law.” She was one of several “other women” whose love
letters provided evidence in an ancestor’s divorce case. (I do know her name, but in case there are
descendants out there unaware of this chapter in her life, I’ll refrain from
posting too many revealing specifics.)

Because the divorce proceedings are among the Chancery
Causes available online through Virginia Memory at the Library of Virginia,
anyone can read the whole sordid tale of Ms. Buss’s clandestine relationship with
George, the husband of my 2nd grandaunt Sally.

George traveled as part of his job with the railroad. He lived in Virginia but boarded awhile in
Andover, New Jersey. E.E. lived in
Pennsylvania. When apart, they wrote
letters, several of which reveal how they arranged secret meetings in Netcong,
New Jersey.

Lucky for me, E.E. included her address in some of the
letters, so she was easy to find in the 1910 census. She was there along with her two sons. Apparently she was separated or divorced
because no husband was listed. Working
backwards, I found that E.E. married “Mr. Buss” in 1895. By 1900, they had had two children, only one
of whom survived. In 1910, there were
two sons.

Most of E.E.’s letters are not very juicey, often writing
about the weather or complaining about work, and almost always apologizing for
her handwriting. Whether she signed her
name or not, she typically closed with something like “Your Devoted Little
Girl.” She must have been committed to
the affair as the letters span several years beginning in 1907 and lasting well
past 1911.

George and Sally’s divorce wasn’t finalized until 1914,
but E.E. was not around. The story of who
dumped whom is unknown. E.E. eventually
moved on and married again. She was
widowed in 1932. Nine years later she
died and was buried alongside her husband in a cemetery in the town where she
had always lived.

"I remain as ever your little girl". That must have been the sign of the times - I have a gazillion letters that my grandparents (thank goodness it wasn't a clandestine relationship) wrote back and forth to each other from 1917-1919. My grandmother often signed her letters "Your own little girl" and many times she addressed it to "My dearest boy". Such a different time.

Wow. How amazing it must be to have handwritten notes from ancestors. I appreciate you sharing them in the A to Z challenge. I'd love to get my hands on something like that. I've often wondered what sort of story I could tell if I were to move in to a house and find something left behind. Relative or not!

A family in Greene County, Virginia found a daybook from a general store dated 1855. It's full of people's names and what they purchased and if they paid on time. Now THAT is some revealing stuff. You can tell when people were sick. You can figure a wedding or some special occasion was coming soon based on the material and jewelry being purchased. You see people buying lead paint and what is now an illegal drug. I wonder what future generations will say about our Kroger receipts and purchases from QVC.

OMG...my clicker has gone haywire...couldn't be the finger attached to the brain...naw...sorry for the TWO removals.

Yep, I'd say you got an 'Outlaw' ancestor going on here. Amazing that George kept those letters...those are what I'd call a shoebox full of skeletons in the closet. Great job on sleuthing out E.E. Buss. Bless her heart...wonder what else she apologized for...other than her handwriting....there's a 'fiction story waiting to happen'. Sue at CollectInTexas Gal

I'm sure George didn't keep the letters for his descendants. In fact, he tried to hide them. Sallie saw him hide them, and then when he was gone for the day she retrieved them and read them. She went to the girlfriend's house (not EE - a different girl) and demanded the letters he wrote to her. The girlfriend gave Sallie the letters on the condition that Sallie not tell her parents. HA HA. But that girl was married -- wonder why she didn't ask Sallie not to tell her husband (well, maybe he already knew). Anyway, the letters were presented as evidence of George's serial infidelity over 10 years. And now they're in a folder wherever court proceedings are stored.

I absolutely am fascinated with your theme. WOW... You got the goods on your relatives. I had thought of writing a story about the loves and affairs of my early relatives. (Not for A-Z) I really think there was more hanky panky going on back then .

Wow. I love the personal letters. And the details. How long did it take to find it all out? I could spend hours doing my family tree. My mother law found out some juicy details for her family. Very interesting stuff.

Trying to read over 30 love letters multiple pages long was exhausting, mainly because of the handwriting. Once I discovered a name, it wasn't terribly difficult to check Ancestry since I had a name and location. Thanks for visiting~

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About Me

My name is Wendy. About twenty years ago, I helped my mother research the Jolletts. Since retiring from teaching, I have expanded my research which I share here. When I’m not looking for my own family, I index for FamilySearch and the Greene County Historical Society.
Welcome to Jollett Etc. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. If you have more information or believe we are related, EMAIL ME at wendymath at cox dot net